These days, the temperature in Europe is at 5-6 degrees Celsius. Not freezing, but for a flat-nosed, yellow-skinned person with a sinus infection like me, the cold is enough to tear apart all the ideas of traveling during the Vietnamese New Year that are "jumping numbers" in my head.
But all that was nothing compared to the cold that was invading my heart. Another year, exactly ten years, I had not been home.
I miss the hustle and bustle of the kitchen since the day the Kitchen Gods were sent to heaven. I love the moment of cleaning up on the last day of the year. The smell of smoky hay makes my eyes sting but it is strangely warm.
Perhaps, in this country, far away Germany, there are many people like me. A little lonely on the days before Tet. But fortunately, there are many people like me so everything is better.
Scene of Sapa market in the Czech Republic before the Lunar New Year 2024. Photo: Quynh Chi
The spring market in a foreign land is also bustling with a full range of goods bearing the mark of the homeland - peach blossoms, kumquats, kumquats, apricot blossoms..., Tet decorations on conical hats, conical hats, paper fans..., parallel sentences wishing for good luck... There is nothing missing! All of these create a very Vietnamese Tet atmosphere and people like me also feel warm inside.
In the German group, these days it is more bustling with the familiar and bustling question: "How are you preparing for Tet?". Then each person shares a secret recipe for making this jam or that food.
Everyone hopes that every family will have a complete Tet. Family reunion may not be complete, but we certainly cannot miss the important moments to wish each other a peaceful new year.
Dong Xuan Market (in Berlin - Germany), Sapa Market (Czech Republic) are bustling with Vietnamese people coming and going. They trade and chat. Even though they are strangers, people are still connected by memories and nostalgia for their homeland.
But perhaps, the special thing that connects all those who are looking forward to Tet in this foreign land is the desire to "Bring Tet home to your children". This is not a project, nor is it a campaign. It is simply the desire for children born in foreign lands to know what the traditional Tet atmosphere of the Vietnamese people is like.
Above all, in the most intimate and familiar way, mothers want their children to understand and love the beautiful culture of their homeland. No matter where they are on this earth, in a place completely different from the culture of their home country, the transmission of Vietnamese culture by organizing and participating in cultural activities such as traditional Tet is of utmost importance.
Vietnamese mother teaches her children Tet customs. Photo: Facebook
Tet feast of a Vietnamese family in Germany. Photo: Facebook
Living far away from home, everyone certainly feels homesick, especially during the transitional moments to the new year. I love Tet! And perhaps because I am a traditional woman, I love and enjoy everything about the ancient Tet even more.
I feel more cheerful when I see the green, red, purple and yellow Ao Dai fluttering around the streets of Berlin. The children wearing Ao Dai and wooden clogs playing at the Brandenburg Gate are so adorable that there are no words to describe them.
Adults have more or less enjoyed the peaceful and beautiful Tet holiday at home, so children living far away from home deserve to have a beautiful childhood imbued with traditional Vietnamese culture.
Decorate the house with your children, make peach blossoms and apricot blossoms, wrap banh chung and nem, and mold fish on the day the Kitchen Gods return to heaven... Hopefully, when your children grow up, these moments of preparing for Tet will become the foundation to guide them back to their homeland and roots.
Not only me but every mother wants to bring wonderful things to their children. For Vietnamese mothers, it is to pass on to their children the beauty of Vietnamese customs.
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